The Riz Team Blog

Posts Tagged ‘cheap’

Budget Fixes for Drafty Windows

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013

Keeping your home warm doesn’t come at a high price, thanks to these easy-to-do fixes. Bring on the Heat!

Elsa Satella • This Old House magazine

On average, 10 to 25 percent of a home’s heat escapes through its windows. If you’re feeling drafts, you should consider reglazing or even replacing your windows. But if you can’t because of time—or budget—first weatherstrip, then try these other temporary fixes to help beat the chill.

Plastic Film

Applied to panes with double-sided tape and sealed using the heat from a hair dryer, this inexpensive clear shrink film can allow a room to retain as much as 55 percent of its heat. In a pinch, bubble wrap makes an effective replacement; just push the bubble side of the wrap against the glass and adhere with double-sided tape.

Shown: Duck Crystal Clear Shrink Film, about $13 for two 3-packs, My Brands.

Draft Snakes

Stop cold air from creeping through windowsills with a snake. You can buy one online, or easily make one yourself by filling a tube of fabric, like an old knee sock, with dry rice.

Shown: Window and door draft stopper, about $10, Improvements

Rigid Foam

For basement and attic windows you don’t need to see out of, cover the panes with a piece of foam board glued to ⅜-inch drywall. Cut pieces to fit snugly inside the frame, press the foam side against the glass, then simply pop out when you want to let in sunlight.

Shown: Dow ½-inch polyisocyanurate rigid foam sheathing, about $12.50 per 8-4-foot panel, Lowe’s

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50 Cheap and Chic Kitchen Perk-ups

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Organizing, styling and mini-makeover ideas to transform the hub of your home

 

By: Margot Austin  Style at Home Magazine

1 Elevate the everyday – invest in a set of handmade cereal bowls.

2 Granny Smith apples – a stylist’s secret weapon – are a pretty countertop accent and a healthy snack all in one.

3 When was the last time your toaster made toast the way you like it? If you can’t remember, it’s time for a new one.

4 Use a bench with storage as a kitchen banquette.

5 Treat yourself to a fresh set of dishtowels. Reuse the old ones as rags to polish silver, shine shoes or wipe up paint spills.

6 Display a vintage dishware collection on open shelves.

7 Hot-glue a seldom used vintage kitchen utensil in a shadow box and start a collection to adorn your walls.

8 Overhaul the area under your sink cabinet to make room for garbage, recycling and composting.

9 Bake a pie or layer cake – your kitchen will be transformed in less than an hour.

10 Hide the counter clutter of keys, cellphones and sunglasses inside a Moroccan tajine.

11 Remove everything from the tops of cabinets. Thoroughly clean the area. Do not replace the items!

12 Get rid of any chipped plates or cups – they’re getting you down.

13 Dress the windowsill with two or three pots of moss or herbs.

14 If you have glass door cabinets but can’t keep what’s inside looking tidy, line the glass panels with wallpaper or fabric, or apply frosted window film.

15 Install energy-efficient under cabinet lighting.

16 Use crystal flutes for your orange juice tomorrow morning. Champagne optional!

17
Create a photo wall of family members with their birthday cakes over the years.

18 Conceal scratches or dents on an old fridge with decorative wall decals.

19
A rough-hewn wooden bowl looks just as great empty as it does filled with rustic breads, artichokes or newspapers.

20 If there isn’t a window above your sink, hang a mirror there.

21 Add French flair: opt for a rustic table and chairs in the centre of your kitchen rather than an island.

22 Wallpaper the ceiling.

23 Tall ceilings? Install a large nontypical central light, like a chandelier, lantern or industrial pendant.

24 Cook up some natural air freshener: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of apple cider to a simmer. Add a few slices of lemon, cinnamon sticks and 1 tsp whole cloves. Simmer for a couple of hours, adding more cider as it evaporates.

25 Hang a fabric blind with an elegant swag for a touch of grandeur.

26 A potted orchid in a white ceramic pot is a sophisticated living accessory that lasts longer than cut stems.

27 Install a new faucet.

28
Use a shallow baking dish to store cooking essentials by the cooktop or stove. It will keep everything exactly where you need it and save your counter from oil rings and pepper grinder debris. Decant olive oil into an opaque or dark glass bottle to protect it from light.

29 Treat yourself to a new set of canisters.

30 Say no to paper napkins and switch to a colourful fabric set.

31 Switch out your dated kitchen chairs for black Windsor chairs. They’re a design classic – great with mod or trad tables.

32 Remove a pair of cupboard doors and style the open shelves with your prettiest things.

33 Install invisible touch-latch hardware for a sleek, modern look.

34 Hang wallpaper as a backsplash. Protect it with acrylic or glass panels custom cut and installed by a glazier.

35 Leave only your chicest small appliances on the counter.

36 Conceal an ugly backsplash behind peel-andstick Smart Tiles.

37 Banish old knobs in favour of sexy new ones.

38 Conquer the junk drawer.

39 Get a handsome mortar and pestle. When you aren’t using it to muddle mint for a mojito, press it into service as a bookend for cookbooks.

40 Paint your cabinets nature’s neutral – green. It will look great with all your fruits and veg.

41 Display a pineapple when you’re expecting guests – it’s the universal symbol of welcome.

42 Make a pretty message board by placing fabric or decorative paper behind the glass of a large frame. Then use a dry erase marker to write on the front.

43 Add shaped brackets along the toe kick to make your cabinets look like fine furniture.

44 Install decorative casing trim around your pass-through.

45 Banish the smelly dishcloth hanging over the faucet! Organize your sinkside essentials on a rectangular dish or tray. The must-haves: dish soap in a pretty container (or decant some into a translucent white squeeze bottle), an all-natural cellulose sponge for dishwashing, a scrub brush and a plastic scrubber for pots.

46 Install a plate rack. Use it to display a collection of platters or cookbooks.

47 Splurge on a marble-top dining table for your best friend.

48 Keep utensils contained and at the ready in a plain white pitcher – it goes with any kitchen.

49
Perk up a family table with cheerful oilcloth that you can wipe clean in a flash.

50 The next time you buy groceries, bring home a bunch of daisies for the kitchen table.

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The $967 Kitchen Remodel

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

Warm brown paint, glass mosaic tile, and fresh fixtures update a drab old kitchen

Natalie Rodriguez   This Old House Magazine

Looks Like a Million Bucks

 

With kitchens, simple does not necessarily equal streamlined. For homeowners Eduardo Perez and Moo Sirikittisup, the kitchen that came with their Atlanta condo fell short on both frills and function. Builder- grade cabinets and white laminate counters set a cheerless, monotonous tone in an open space that can be seen from the front door. And washing dishes meant looking at a worn wood cabinet, as the window didn’t line up over the sink. Opening the dishwasher blocked the oven door and vice versa. “It was a sad-looking space,” says Eduardo.

Sad-Looking Space

 

A bland color scheme and an awkward layout made this kitchen boring and inconvenient. So after a year—and with some DIY know-how passed down from his contractor dad—Eduardo spent two weeks removing the oak cabinets, refinishing and reinstalling them, then putting in new counters. The sink and the dishwasher swapped places, improving the room’s flow, and he added sleek new hardware and fixtures to update the space.

Beautiful Backsplash

 

The new faucet (Delta) is classic and functional, with a graceful shape. The priciest splurge was the colorful mosaic tile (Casa Italia, Green Mix Mosaic Glass from Floor and Decor Outlets of America), but the green-and-white glass-tile backsplash brought in a finishing touch of color. Says Eduardo, “Now, when I walk in and see the kitchen, it makes me smile.”

Homeowner Tip: Eduardo picked up a small wet saw for just $59: “It cut the glass tiles like they were cookies. It was so easy.”

Dynamite Details: Cabinet Pulls

 

The removed-and-reinstalled cabinets look like completely new boxes, thanks to a DIY paint job. Rectangular bar pulls (IKEA) updated the cabinets and complemented their new modern chocolate-colored finish.

Dynamite Details: Lighting

 

An inexpensive home-center find, the spotlight fixture (Home Depot) targets its beams on the kitchen’s separate workstations. And, the brushed-nickel finish matches the new cabinet pulls beautifully.

Finding Storage in Small Spaces

 

Since the kitchen is on the small side, the homeowners added shelves underneath the breakfast bar area to hold the microwave and other appliances when not in use. This smart use of space clears up the countertop for food prep and other everyday use.

Eduardo and Moo are saving for the next phase of the makeover: new appliances. But for now, chocolate-colored paint (Behr) on the cabinets and a countertop swap (IKEA), along with nickel-finish fixtures and cool green mosaic tiles complete the contemporary makeover.

Project Tally

 

• Removed and reinstalled original cabinets in a slightly new configuration, $0

• Replaced old laminate counters with new ones that have stainless-steel edge banding, $300

• Put a fresh coat of paint on walls and ceiling, $34

• Sanded original oak cabinets and brushed on a gallon of new chocolate-brown paint, $28

• Added a brushed nickel, three-light ceiling fixture, $35

• Swapped in nickel-finished cabinet pulls, $80

• Upgraded the kitchen faucet, $45

• Added undercabinet pucks for task lighting, $45

• Installed new glass tile mosaic backsplash, $400

TOTAL: $967

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10 Uses for Old Socks

Friday, October 5th, 2012

Hold onto those old socks for all these handy household uses

By: Allie Cutler, This Old House magazine

Whether they’re past their prime or just stray singles, don’t just kick ’em to the curb. Give them new legs with these household solutions

1. Ease First Aid

Slip an ice pack into a sock to temper the chill while soothing sore muscles or bruises.

2. Secure Mobile Devices

 

To enjoy tunes while raking fall leaves, create an armband pocket for your MP3 player. Cut off the leg of a tube sock, slide it onto your arm, then double the material up around your biceps. Tuck the player between the elastic layers.

3. Rescue Lost Hardware

 

Slide a sock over the end of a vacuum’s hose, secure with a rubber band, and use the vac’s suction to pick up dropped screws, nuts, or nails.

4. Stop Drafts

 

Line doorjambs and windowsills with rice-filled socks to keep the cold from entering your home and the house’s heat from escaping.

5. Polish Surfaces

 

A sock becomes a reusable or disposable mitt for waxing furniture or shining silver, brass, or pewter.

6. Cushion Your Knees

 

For DIY jobs that require kneeling, cut off the legs of a pair of tube socks and slide them over your pant legs. Fold the fabric over your knees once or twice for extra padding.

7. Ice-Proof Windshield Wipers

 

When frost is in the forecast, slide kneesocks over wipers to prevent crystals from clinging. Just pull off the socks and you’re on your way, no scraping necessary.

8. Protect Footwear

 

Before tackling a dirty or messy job, pull oversize or stretched-out socks over your shoes to keep them clean

9. Entertain Fido

 

Tie a knot at each end of a tube sock and get ready for a round of tug-of-war.

10. Clean Up

 

Wear a sock as a glove so that you can easily swab the dust away from every nook and cranny in mantels, venetian blinds, and ceiling-fan blades.

 

 

 


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